Inforum, or the Interindustry Forecasting Project at the University of Maryland, was founded 40 years ago by Dr. Clopper Almon, now Professor Emeritus of the University. It is dedicated to improving business planning, government policy analysis, and the general understanding of the economic environment. Inforum accomplishes this mission through:

• Building and using structural economic models of U.S. and other economies. Inforum pioneered the construction of dynamic, interindustry, macroeconomic models which portray the economy in a unique "bottom-up" fashion.

• Working with government and private sector research sponsors to investigate a variety of issues. Economic projections and analysis using Inforum econometric models are distinguished by detail at the industrial and product level.

• Serving as a training crucible for University of Maryland graduate students who receive valuable training in empirical economics. Indeed, Inforum graduate research assistants have completed over 40 Ph.D. dissertations, most of which have contributed directly to the infrastructure of Inforum.

• Maintaining active and productive ties with a world-wide network of research associates, each of which uses Inforum modeling methods and software. The Inforum partners have held annual conferences since 1993.

This year, Inforum proudly celebrates its 40th anniversary. Since its founding in 1967 by Dr. Clopper Almon, Inforum has operated at the University of Maryland, serving clients in business and government and providing training for many university students, visiting scholars, and others. Inforum continues to foster cooperation and development of economic knowledge and techniques with partners around the world.